Life on Earth!

Life on Earth! are the side-project of Dungen’s Mattias Gustavsson, and he seems to have picked up where Dungen left off after Ta Det Lungt. The sound is similar but Gustavsson has a much better sense of direction, as far as songwriting is concerned. Life on Earth! offer a very current take on psych rock and Gustavsson is a good updater, using string arrangements, wild flute solos, thick percussion and great ’70s style harmonies to complement the more conventional hooks and melodies. Like Dungen, Life on Earth! can be self-indulgent, at times. A few meandering instrumentals seem less like experimental freak-outs and more like last-ditch efforts to make the album less "normal.” It’s unfortunate, because Life on Earth!’s accessibility is an asset; Gustavsson has mined his ’60s influences well and, more importantly, he can write a good song. Look!! There is… sounds best when the weird stuff adds to the arrangements without overtaking them, and when he’s not trying too hard, Gustavsson’s work sounds just great.